A whirlwind time for Graham Rahal, who will make his 16th Indianapolis 500. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
SPEEDWAY, Ind. – In a span of under 48 hours, Graham Rahal went from being bumped out of the 107th Indianapolis 500 to competing in the race.
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports announced Tuesday morning that Rahal will fill-in for Stefan Wilson in the No. 24 Chevrolet for the rest of the month, including Sunday’s 200-lap event. Wilson was ruled out of racing in the 500 on Monday night after suffering a fractured thoracic vertebrae in a practice crash after contact from Katherine Legge, a car owned by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
Co-owner Dennis Reinbold stated that he is excited to put Rahal in the car, but not in the circumstances he would have hoped for to occur. However, the amount of support everyone in the organization, including Wilson, has not gone unnoticed.
“We had the month going really well with Stefan. He is getting further evaluation today, I know, going in for X-rays here soon to sort of determine the path of what’s best for him. We had to do a lot of work yesterday afterwards to get things put together with Graham, and there were a lot of hurdles involved,” Reinbold said. “A lot of things what I want to touch on is just how much the INDYCAR community really, in a situation like this, rallies around each other and all the help that we got from everyone in the paddock and elsewhere. We even had Mike and Sandy Fink, longtime friends, showed up with dinner for us last night as we were working to get our backup car prepared for Graham.
“It just goes all the way through the paddock, and it’s really a touching feeling that so many competitors can come together and work together. A lot of credit to the Chevy guys who we talked with. There’s just so many conflicts and things that we had to work through to put this together that — it’s the Indy 500, and people come together to make this event special and make it great like it is. It’s really been a moving experience, a lot of emotions through the last 24 hours, and just really touched by all the support that we’ve had.”
Don Cusick spoke with Wilson this morning and mentioned that the 33-year-old British driver is fairly crushed about missing out on Sunday’s race. Still, he appreciated all the pouring amount of support and best wishes he has received.
“We can’t wait to get him better and get him back out here,” Cusick said. “He really appreciates all the outpouring and concern. Hopefully, (we can) get him back here on Sunday and walk down the track with him.”
Wilson during Monday’s practice, several minutes before his month ending crash. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
No matter the outcome, it is a tale of heartbreak and bittersweet. Wilson’s dream of making his fifth Indy 500 his finest race ended in a backboard. On the other hand, Rahal will now run his 16th Indy 500 by filling in for a family friend.
Rahal was close friends with Wilson’s older brother, Justin, who died after being struck by debris at Pocono Raceway in 2015. Following Justin’s death, Rahal was one of the first people who helped his family over the years, including helping Justin’s daughters through school.
Rahal admitted that the older Wilson molded his open wheel racing career. A conversation with Wilson at Portland in 2006 about Formula One, when Justin drove for Minardi and Jaguar in 2003, changed Rahal’s life and he has not forgotten about that moment.
“I think about Justin a lot. When the call came, right away it was an immediate connection. Frankly, I think in many ways, Justin helped — in more ways than one kind of shape my career, not only as a man and who you should be, how you should act, all that stuff,” Rahal said. “I was still dreaming that, hey, maybe someday Formula 1, and Justin was the guy who told me that it was way too political and I didn’t have the right filter to enter Formula 1. If it were not for him, I probably would have kept chasing a different dream.”
Justin Wilson at the 2014 Rolex 24 at Daytona. (Photo: Stephen Conley | The Podium Finish)
Naturally, concerns rose before the deal was finalized. DRR/Cusick’s No. 24 team runs a Chevrolet and Rahal is a Honda contracted driver. Through the blessing of Honda, Sunday will mark the first time Rahal will drive a different engine supplier since joining the series in 2008 after Champ Car merged with the IRL.
It will also be the first time Rahal will drive for a different team since his two-year stint with Chip Ganassi Racing from 2011-12. The sudden opportunity is also a reunion. Back at Iowa in 2010, Rahal drove for DRR in a one-off race when he finished ninth.
All of that in mind, Rahal made it clear that it is Wilson’s ride above everything else. Initially, he felt that being called at first was not worth his time, suggesting to call his father, Bobby, and Reinbold as there was uncertainty if such blessing would be granted by Honda.
“I had said to (Dennis), I don’t really want to waste your time. It’s probably best that you just speak to (Bobby). Because again, while I was very appreciative, I knew the hurdles were going to be massive. This wasn’t just as easy as saying yes,” he said. “Last night we were sitting there at about 10:30 and going, I can’t believe this actually happened, that both Honda and Chevy allowed this to happen. So we’re very, very appreciative of that.
“I knew that the challenges were far greater than me, and I needed to step aside because contractually I don’t know what all is said between RLL and Honda, RLL and our partners. But I know that this guy here to my right is a high-class individual, and I know he and dad spoke and worked things out right away. I’m surprised, but it was certainly exciting for me to hear late last night that we were going to be able to make this happen.”
Once it was approved, Rahal jokingly said that Jack Harvey has not gotten rid of him yet. It was Harvey, Rahal’s teammate, who bumped him out of the 500 on Sunday afternoon by 0.007 mph. Rahal could not re-qualify as Harvey’s run unfolded when time expired as a weight jacker issue plagued Rahal’s only qualifying run on Sunday.
Due to INDYCAR’s ruling of a replacement driver, the No. 24 will no longer start 25th where Wilson had qualified. Rahal will start 33rd as the team are currently working on the backup chassis. Since Rahal logged laps around IMS this month, he will not be required to take a Refresher Orientation Program like James Davison did when he filled in for Sebastien Bourdais in 2017.
The No. 24 crew posing for the traditional Indy 500 team photo last Saturday. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
Regarding sponsorships, the No. 24 will have a different look as the organization are working on accommodating Rahal’s primary sponsor, United Rentals, but keep Wilson and Cusick Motorsport’s CareKeepers sponsorship. Additionally, Ryan Hunter-Reay’s black unsponsored No. 23 Chevrolet will also have a different look come Carb Day.
Reinbold explained that the elder Rahal spoke with him to figure out a way to sort the sponsorships where flexibility are there to make all parties coexist on such short notice, including working with Cusick.
“Bobby stepped in and really made it work out to where we could do different things and shift things around, and I worked with Don in that regard, as well,” said Reinbold. It’s just been a group effort to try to figure out what we can do. Our car will look a little bit different to accommodate some of those things in order for us all to work together and just get to the end goal.
“This was a dire situation for us. Graham had his situation Sunday. We’re trying to turn it into a win-win situation, hopefully win-win-win, being Sunday with the final win. That’s what we did. We just rolled up our sleeves and went to work. We’re going to do some different things sponsorship-wise and accommodate what we can do. We’ve got some other announcements coming with Ryan’s car, as well. Both cars will look slightly different and tweaked and things like that. Working on it still.”
The overall picture over the next few days for Rahal is to put the No. 24 Chevrolet in an excellent position and win the Indy 500 (Sunday at 11 a.m. ET on NBC).
“Our focus and attention is completely dedicated to Dreyer & Reinbold and Cusick Motorsports to do the best that we can in the 24 car, and at the end of the day we’re competing now. That’s the reality of this situation,” Rahal said. “Things in motorsports — I tell people all the time, motorsports is one of the few sports where there just are no guarantees ever. Things can change immediately. That’s the situation that we’re in, and we’re going to go out there and do the absolute best we can to get in Victory Lane.
“It’s been a dream of mine my entire life. I think we’ve got a great opportunity to do so with Dreyer & Reinbold and with Don, and I’m excited by that.”
